Need Help With Some Research

We got awarded a grant a few weeks ago, and as expected the phone dont stop ringing. YOu know how it goes, "we have the best stuff" comes from everyones mouth. We are currently interested in 3 set-ups, and I was just curious if anyone has any of this stuff, opinions/comments/complaints etc welcomed highly. Thank you in advance.

We are looking at Bristol Turnout Gear. According to the vendor, Boston runs this stuff and if its true, how do you like it?

We are also looking at some Quest Gear. Seems to be very competitive.

Helmet wise we are stuck between the Cairns 1010 and the Cairns 880. The 880 from what we have tried on and stuff fits better and seems to be less bulky.

Any opinions are great. We are just trying to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters for their opinions, and maybe even your horror stories if it means we dont get screwed. Thanks.

I cant comment on the gear either, as we dont use that but.......I do have a ten ten and I like it alot. It fits well on my head and has good balance. It has been durable and seen some action.We had the old 660's when we changed to the Ben II's and I did not like them at all.

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Our department has several sets of Bristol gear that are about 5 years old. I think the gear is great, due to its light weight, and ability to move with you. The Bristol gear has held up remarkably well, however, several of the guys that are using the gear don't like it. They prefer to use their second set of Quest gear. They say the Bristol gear feels like you are not as well protected. I think they are just not used to the lightweight feel as well as the lack of metal snaps, buttons, grommets, etc. This is one way they are able to make the gear so lightweight. They also don't like that you can't separate the liner from the outer shell. The Bristol gear is designed as one piece, this is another way they lighten the load, and make the gear not bind as you move. We are not currently purchasing Bristol gear, and have moved to Quest which I don't have any complaints about. I simply like the Bristol gear due to its lower weight, and one piece design.

I'm not sure who they are going with but I believe that Boston is getting away from the Bristol Gear. I have seen several guys with the tri-colored striping that didn't look like Bristol. We use Fire-Dex and I love it. The department is also getting away from Cairns and Bullard helmets and going with Morning Pride Ben II's. I tried one on and it is much more comfortable than my 1000 and apparently it costs less.

We have to eliminate all leather, so leather is not an option. We have to turn away from it because it cannot be decontaminated (blood for example) without actually replacing it evidentally. Anybody know if this is the same with suade?

Some other gear that has come up in conversation is Cairns. Just curious as to if you have comments with Cairns turnouts.

We have always had Globe, and even though we were essentially unhappy with some of its performance, we kept buying it cause well old habits die-hard. So this is our chance to move on, and thats what we are doing. And while we are at it... we have another vendor coming that deals with Lyon? Any experience with this stuff? Sorry to be bombarding you all with these questions, but we just want to get the facts before we spend almost 30,000 on gear. Thanks.